Refuse cart tippers (“tippers”) are well known in the prior art. These tippers use mechanical linkage to rotate or slide a latch for hooking a bar on the refuse cart so that the cart does not fall off the tipper. Using mechanical linkage to operate latch motion has many disadvantages. For example, mechanical linkage systems will break or bend if an obstruction is in the latch path. Therefore, there is a need for a refuse tipper latching device and method that protects operational members and components of the latch system from damage.
Refuse carts differ in shape and size. For example, the position of the lower bar relative to the upper lip may vary between refuse carts. Therefore, the system for driving the hook or slider latch must be adaptable and flexible to account for size variations in the refuse cart. Often with mechanical latches that use linkage bars to rotate or slide a latch, the range of motion and timing of the latch is difficult to control and adjust. For example, if the lower bar on the refuse cart is outside the range of motion configured into the mechanical linkage of the latch, the latch will either fail to hook the lower bar of the refuse cart resulting in the refuse cart coming unhooked from the tipper or the latch will bend or break the lower bar. Therefore, there is a need for a refuse tipper latching device and method that accounts for changes in the position of the lower bar by providing adaptable motion and timing of the latch relative to the position or motion of the tipper and/or position of the lower bar and/or upper lip to prevent damage to the refuse cart.
Oftentimes with refuse tippers, the mechanical linkage for operating the latch is a restrictive design feature which means that the refuse tipper may only be used for certain operating heights, size and shaped refuse carts, and ranges of movement, rotational or otherwise. Therefore, there is need for a refuse tipper latching device and method that can be adapted and incorporated into many types of refuse tippers regardless of the range of operating motion, heights, and/or configurations.